Sitting is Hard on the Body

I don’t know about you, but being a grad student is a pain in the bottom-literally. I sit for hours at the computer without realizing the time passing by! I’ll look at the clock and it astonishes me that two hours have just vanished. Did I move at all during this time?  I am a living statue at my desk.  My bottom is sore, my shoulders are sore, my right arm is sore, my knees are sore.  Exercising regularly is not enough, I need to take more breaks from sitting. Prolonged immobility and restricted blood flow have led to harmful conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or eThrombosis, a variant form of venous thromboembolism (VTE).  Mixing this risk with the news that sitting long periods shaves years off life (CNN.com) and you’ve got a recipe for disaster if you’re not careful. We learn about viruses and harmful material on the Internet. We need to be aware of the potential harm that exists for our bodies with living in a techno-savvy environment.

DVT was first attributed to problems during the air-raids of WWII when Londoners would sleep upright in deck chairs in the shelters. The inactivity led to a blood clot forming in the legs. This could be fatal if the clot lodged in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).  Sitting for prolonged periods contributes to life threatening VTE¹.This is why people traveling for extensive periods are at risk too (See Dying to Fly). There are other factors that contribute to likelihood of blood clotting but most people don’t know if they are at risk.  Monitoring your movement is key and easy for anyone to do.

When I was teaching in the classroom, I hardly sat at my desk. Now that I’m the student, I feel empathy for those who work on computers all day. Different strokes for different folks, but let me just say I don’t envy them. It can really drain a person and sometimes I feel as though the last thing I want to do in my spare time is sit and look at a computer, phone, or TV screen.  Most of us are sitting for long periods of time when we work or play on computers. There are extreme cases of these immobile hazards, including two that involved technology. I will say veteran techies and serious gamers seem to get very defensive when you hear about such cases. I’m not saying that computers are the problem. Experts are telling us move around and take breaks, exercise, eat healthy, and be sensible. Although these are extreme (and real) scenarios, it is likely that some people are working at their computers ten, twelve, or even more hours a day.

• Korea- 24 year old male dies from “eThrombosis” after playing an online computer game for almost 80 hours. Minimal sleep and instant noodles.

• Britain-20 year old marathon gaming male dies from blood clot (DVT) 

• NBC journalist David Bloom, 39, dies from DVT after riding in army tanks while reporting from Iraq. 

The more we know about these health risks, the more likely we are to change our lifestyles so that we are living sensibly and healthy even in the realm of technology. According to the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis, the number of pulmonary embolism (a complication from DVT) deaths per year in the U.S. is more than the number of AIDS and breast cancer fatalities combined. I think it’s worthwhile we take note of this to remind ourselves, our students, friends, and family to take those short breaks to move around a bit. It just could save a life.

How are you making sure you’re not sitting in one position too long, whether it’s traveling or working on the computer?  Leave a comment and share your ideas.

1. Lee, H. (2004). A new case of fatalpulmonary thromboembolism associated with prolonged sitting at computer in Korea.  YonseiMedical Journal, 45(2), 349-351.